Catholic News

• Pope Leo outlines his vision of the priests that the Church needs today (CWN)
  In a letter to the priests of the Archdiocese of Madrid. Pope Leo XIV outlined his vision of the “type of priests that Madrid—and the entire Church—needs at this time.”
• DDF publishes 4 Vatican documents from 1962-2004 on addressing sexual abuse accusations (CWN)
  The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith announced the online publication, “for study purposes,” of four documents related to the Church’s discipline at the time of addressing sexual abuse.
• Pope thanks floral, Vatican building services stafff (Vatican News)
  Pope Leo XIV thanked the staff members of the Vatican City State’s Floral and Construction Services during a February 8 audience. “You have shown great passion for your tasks, especially during the Jubilee Year that has just ended,” Pope said during the audience, which took place in Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace. “The decorum of the areas and the safety of the structures find their highest meaning in the support given to the devotion of the faithful and to the pastoral work of the Church.”
• Vatican sends 80 generators to Ukraine (Vatican News)
  At Pope Leo’s request, the Dicastery for the Service of Charity sent three trucks carrying 80 generators to Ukraine, where Russian attacks have targeted the nation’s electric infrastructure. “Alongside the generators, thousands of medicines have been sent to Ukraine, including antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, supplements and melatonin, which is especially in demand as it helps people sleep amid ongoing fear and constant stress,” Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, reported.
• Vatican diplomat called for investment in infrastructure of world's poorest nations (Holy See Mission)
  Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, called for investments in the physical and digital infrastructure of the world’s poorest nations. At a recent meeting of leaders of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the prelate said that these nations are hampered by “persistent structural constraints, such as limited connectivity, insufficient human capital, a lack of technical assistance and capacity building, and weak regulatory frameworks.” “Investments in infrastructure, both physical and digital, are essential, as are investments in human capital development, including education, skills training, and lifelong learning opportunities,” he added. “Least developed countries require greater attention, stronger solidarity and renewed commitments to their development, precisely because they are the ‘least.’”
• Australian bishops issue statement on rising cost of living (Australian Catholic Bishops Conference)
  The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has released a statement, “The Cost of Our Living: Economic and Social Justice for the Common Good.” The brief statement has three sections: “Struggling to Afford the Necessities of Life,” “Addressing the Crisis,” and “Prophets of Hope.” “Across Australia, many of our sisters and brothers are burdened by the rising cost of life’s necessities,” said Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, SDB, the president of the bishops’ conference. “As disciples of Jesus, we cannot turn away from these realities.”
• Prelate denounces Truth Social depiction of Obamas (USCCB)
  Referring to a video posted on President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account portraying former President Obama and his wife as apes, the chairman of the US bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation said that he was “glad to see that the egregious post has been taken down.” Bishop Daniel Garcia of Austin added: As my brother bishops and I have said in our pastoral letter against racism: “Every racist act—every such comment, every joke, every disparaging look as a reaction to the color of skin, ethnicity, or place of origin—is a failure to acknowledge another person as a brother or sister, created in the image of God.” “The continual dehumanization of people of color by the president and his administration, such as the Obamas being portrayed as apes, is both inappropriate and disappointing,” said Grant Jones, executive director of the Knights of Peter Claver Foundation, a fraternal organization of African-American Catholics. “The faithful, especially the Catholic community, many of whom are supporters of the president, should no longer remain silent and speak out in opposition to this ongoing behavior.” The president discussed the post in an exchange with reporters.
• 'We mixed raw flour with water to stay alive': Nigerian church abduction survivors recount ordeal (Vanguard)
  All 183 Christians who were abducted from three churches in Kajuru, Nigeria, are now free, the Lagos-based Vanguard reported. Gunmen kidnapped the worshippers from a Catholic church and two Protestant churches on January 18. The gunmen “fed us with raw corn flour just four times,” said one survivor. “We mixed it with water to have something in our stomach.”
• USCCB publishes update on Temporary Protected Status for Haiti (USCCB)
  The Office of Policy and Advocacy of the US bishops’ Secretariat of Migration has published a brief “Update on Temporary Protected Status for Haiti.” The update addresses three questions: “What is TPS and why is it important for Haitians in the United States?”, “What does the [February 2 federal] court decision mean for Haitians with TPS?”, and “How has the USCCB responded to the termination of TPS for Haiti?” “TPS is a temporary form of humanitarian relief for people from a designated country, allowing them to remain in the United States legally when conditions in their country of origin make safe return impractical, impossible, or detrimental to local recovery efforts,” the update stated. “An end to TPS for Haiti would immediately end legal status and work authorization for those of the over 300,000 Haitian beneficiaries of TPS in the United States.”
• Pontiff accepts resignation of 82-year-old bishop (Vatican Press Office)
  Pope Leo XIV yesterday accepted the resignation of one of the world’s oldest active bishops. Armenian Catholic Bishop Sarkis Davidian of Ispahan, Iran, is 82—seven years past the age at which bishops are required to submit their resignation. Bishop Davidian, however, is not retiring immediately: the Pontiff named him apostolic administrator of his eparchy, without naming a successor.
• 19th-century Spanish priest beatified (CWN)
  Father Salvador Valera Parra (1816-1889), a Spanish parish priest, was beatified in his hometown of Huércal-Overa on February 7.
• In Nigeria, gunmen kill 3, abduct 11, including priest (AP)
  Gunmen attacked a village in the area of Kauru, Nigeria, on February 7, and abducted 11, including a priest, after killing three people. The incident took place in Kaduna State. In neighboring Niger State, gunmen attacked a convent, a Catholic hospital, and two Protestant churches on February 1.
• Pope speaks of his devotion to Our Lady, asks the sick to offer their pain to God through Mary (CWN)
  In a Latin-language letter to his special envoy to the principal celebration of the World Day of the Sick, Pope Leo XIV spoke about his devotion to Our Lady.
• Archbishop Hicks, at New York installation Mass, calls for a 'missionary Church, not a country club' (CWN)
  Archbishop Ronald Hicks was installed as archbishop of New York on February 6, at a Mass in St. Patrick’s Cathedral (video).
• Venezuelan cardinal calls on faithful to pray outside prisons (El País (Spanish))
  The retired archbishop of Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, called upon the faithful to gather outside prisons on February 7, pray for the release of political prisoners, and offer support to the prisoners’ families. Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras, 81, issued his call five weeks after the United States removed strongman Nicolás Maduro from office. The nation’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, was Maduro’s vice president.
• Bishop describes plight of Zaporizhzhia, under Russian attack (Vatican News)
  In an interview with Vatican News, a Latin-rite bishop described the present situation in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. Auxiliary Bishop Jan Sobilo of Kharkiv-Zaporizhzhia said that Russian forces “are bombing our city, the energy system, everything that gives us light and heat. As a result, life is very hard for people and for the soldiers.” “Helping our soldiers is extremely important,” he added. “If they do not defend us, then any other aid will no longer matter. The occupiers would come and take everything.”
• Westminster diocesan employee who stole $130K avoids jail (LBC)
  An employee of the Diocese of Westminster, England, received a two-year suspended sentence for transferring more than £96,000 ($130,600) of diocesan funds to her personal account. “All in all, you were funding yourself to a reasonably good standard of lifestyle—grossly and dishonestly,” Judge Mark Weekes told Francisca Yawson, formerly a gift aid and operations technician for the diocese.
• USCCB publishes diocesan guide for evangelizing catechisis (USCCB)
  The US bishops’ Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis has published a Companion to the Handbook on the Catechetical Accompaniment Process: A Diocesan Guide for an Evangelizing Catechesis. The introduction to the 85-page guide explains: Evangelizing catechesis, at its heart, is a ministry of accompaniment— walking with others toward a deeper encounter with Jesus Christ. This is a much richer process than solely intellectual formation, and includes liturgical, spiritual, and moral formation. Catechesis, which unfolds the beauty and treasures of Church teaching, presupposes evangelization. Evangelization aims to put people in touch with Jesus Christ; catechesis builds upon this relationship and “formalizes” it.
• Cardinal Pizzaballa: 'Concrete actions' needed to rebuild trust in Holy Land (Vatican News)
  The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, speaking at a parish in Rome, said that “the wounds are still deep” in the Holy Land. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, said that “peace and reconciliation are beautiful concepts, but they risk remaining mere slogans if they are not accompanied today by concrete actions, gestures, and testimonies that physically demonstrate the possibility of rebuilding trust.” “We need political leadership, but also religious leadership, on both sides, that has some vision and does not base its authority solely on anger and the thirst for revenge,” he added.
• Pope Leo issues 'Life in Abundance,' the most extensive papal document on sports (CWN)
  Pope Leo XIV has issued “Life in Abundance,” a letter on the value of sport, on the occasion of the 25th Winter Olympic Games and 14th Paralympic Games.
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